Title: The Untold Stories Behind MAS*H: Real-Life Inspiration and Behind-the-Scenes Anecdotes
To accurately represent the look and feel of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, “MAS*H” co-creators Gene Reynolds and Larry Gelbart, as well as executive producer and writer Burt Metcalfe, interviewed surgeons who had worked in MASH units during the Korean War.
The Real-Life Inspiration Behind MAS*H
Medical consultant Walter Dishell recalled in an oral history of “MAS*H” for The Hollywood Reporter, “We drove out to the L.A. suburbs to see this guy who’d filmed his MASH unit. He said he’d never shown it to anybody because it was such a terrible time in his life. That’s where the look of The Swamp and the city signposts and other things came from.”
Pulling Anecdotes from Real-Life Experiences
According to star Alan Alda, the team listened to countless transcripts to pull out anecdotes that could serve as the seed of episode scripts. Sometimes a small remembrance would unlock a whole plotline. In trying to recall a specific surgery, one former surgeon noted that it happened the same day that a shipment of eggs came in. That detail made it into an episode of “MAS*H,” where eating the same food every day became monotonous for the camp.
Validation from Real MASH Units
“The interesting thing was after the second year, Larry and Gene went to Korea to visit a MASH unit,” Alda added. “They found out that some of the stories we’d made up had really happened. We were that tuned in to what their experiences were.”